In a study of palliation of cancer treatment effects, Bender-Gestalt test results given routinely showed remarkably high average error totals when compared with results found in a college standardizing population. Age-corrected analysis of these results suggested that age contributed to the high average. To check on the possibility that the Bender could detect neurological deficits not clearly visible in normal behavior, 125 patients were tested before biopsy on the Bender, the WAIS digit-symbol subtest, and a covert and overt anxiety test. Results of two groups were compared: 25 patients whose biopsies disclosed cancer and 25 age-, sex-, and race-matched non-cancer patients with matching on organ site where possible. Neither Bender nor digit-symbol showed substantial differences, even when adjusted for covariance of either anxiety mode. The control group showed greater anxiety in both modes than the cancer group, significantly so (p is less than .01) for covert anxiety. Repression of anxiety, hypothesized elsewhere, was tentatively disconfirmed. Since the Bender scoring method was new, standard scoring will be carried out and the data reanalyzed.